Camouflage
by maleficentqueen
Summary: Set before "I Might Know a Way". Searching for one 12-year old kid in the Land of the Dead was no easy task for the Riveras. How did Dante manage to find Imelda and Pepita? What happened to the other Riveras before Imelda came back with Pepita, Miguel and Héctor?
1. Chapter 1

**Hidden Masks Chapter 1**

Imelda stared after her grandson in shock and sadness, watching as he ran off towards de la Cruz's grand mansion. She never counted on having another musician in the family, nor had she counted on Miguel becoming so upset over the music ban. Pick sides? That was the last thing she wanted him to do!

Blinking back tears, Imelda turned around and headed out of the alley. She began humming _La Llorona_ but caught herself. Why did families have to be so complicated? Why couldn't Miguel see her point of view in this? She didn't want him to end up like…well like that musician. She didn't want Miguel to be so unhappy either. _What a mess._

When he left decades ago, Imelda had sworn to never let the music get in the way again. She thought that she had purged all music from the family. That plan didn't exactly work. _Ay, welcome to the 21_ _st_ _century and all technology._

Imelda was so deep in thought that she didn't notice someone lurking in the shadows. Turning around, Imelda saw a shadow duck and run out of the alleyway. Suspicious, Imelda got ready to take off her boot in case of a fight, but in this case Pepita had her covered.

"Quién está allí?" Imelda asked. "Who's there?"

When no one answered, Imelda slipped her boot off and turned the corner. Nothing. Hmmm. That was odd. Whoever was there must have left without a trace. Even getting past Pepita. And also heard her singing. Which hadn't been for nearly eighty years. Not being seen was nearly impossible since Pepita noticed everything. And everyone. _I must be going out of my mind,_ Imelda thought.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Imelda slid her boot back on, heading back down the stairs. Once she arrived at the entrance to the alley, Pepita welcomed her with an encouraging nuzzle. Out of all the family members in the Rivera house, Pepita was Imelda's confidante and safeguard and the only one that Imelda felt comfortable showing her feelings around except maybe her brothers.

When Imelda was feeling upset or angry, Pepita was always there to comfort her. Allowing her a safe shelter to allow her to break down away from the eyes of her family. When Imelda first arrived in the Land of the Dead decades ago, Pepita was the first thing that greeted her. Whenever _he_ attempted to contact Imelda or tried to see her, Pepita would scare him away with the same level of ferocity as Imelda's temper.

"Ay, Pepita," said Imelda as she climbed onto Pepita's back. "He took off again. I wish he could try and understand. He's going to get himself killed."

Pepita purred in agreement, taking off to the skies, heading for the small plaza. Imelda looked down, scanning the skies and the streets for any sign of the wayward 12-year old. Spotting the plaza where the other dead Riveras waited, Pepita landed with a soft thud.

"How did it go, hermana?' asked Felipe.

"Did you convince him to come back to his family?" added Oscar.

"Is he ok?" asked Rosita.

"Where is he?" asked Julio. "Did he make it back to the Land of the Living?"

Imelda shook her head, furious with herself for letting her grandson ruin his life. "Sin suerte en absolute," she responded angrily, causing the other Riveras to step back. While they all wanted to find Miguel, the others agreed that getting on Imelda's bad side was not a good idea.

But that didn't stop Victoria, who had inched her way forward. Out of all the Riveras, Victoria had inherited her grandmother's courage and determination to get to the point. Elena, on the other hand, had inherited Imelda's temper and resourcefulness.

"Abuelita, qué pasa con ese extraño buscando xolo perro que estaba con él?" she said. "That xolo always follows him around, looking for scraps or something."

Despite the fact that Victoria had only seen Dante for a few minutes, she remembered that Elena always complained about the local stray dogs, especially after a stray got caught marking his territory in the workshop and when one of the strays ruined a pair of shoes for a customer. After that, Elena chased all stray dogs from the Rivera home and any dog that dared show up faced la chancla.

"Or looking for someone else as his meal ticket," said Oscar, cowering when Imelda shot a glare in his direction.

"I am not going around the Land of the Dead looking for a xolo, hermano! Our boy's life is at stake!" Imelda snapped.

"Sí Imelda, but Dante-"

"Ay, you're worse than Miguel! Never name a street dog!"

"But we…" said Oscar

"Didn't name it, Imelda!" finished Felipe.

"I don't care if you named it or not! It's a street dog! Why Miguel named it is beyond me! I'm surprised Elena even let him name it!"

"Street dog or not, Dante is the only way that we can find Miguel, Abuelita," Victoria said.

Sighing, Imelda pinched her eyes with her fingers.

"Oh, esta bien. I'll track down Dante. Everyone else stay put until I come back with Miguel." Imelda said as she climbed onto Pepita's back, preparing to take off.

As Pepita was about to take off, a bark caught everyone's attention. Sure enough, it was—

"Dante? Eres tú Dante?" Julio asked. Barking affirmatively, Dante ran forward and tugged on Imelda's dress with fervor.

"¡Hey deja de hacer eso! Sueltame!" she cried as she attempted to get her dress out of Dante's mouth. But Dante wouldn't give up, tugging on her dress with everything he had until Victoria and Rosita pulled him back.

"Dante, do you know where Miguel is?" asked Victoria. Again, another affirmative yip.

"Can you take us to him?" asked Julio. _Yip._

"Show me." Imelda spoke up. Dante climbed up onto Pepita, causing a slight growl from the large alebrije. "Pepita, está bien. He's going to help us find Miguel."

Pepita lowered one of her wings, allowing Imelda to climb up on to her back. Dante climbed up to take the front row as the giant alebrije took off, leaving the other Riveras behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hidden Masks Chapter 2**

As soon as Imelda took off, Victoria quietly looked down towards the streets, as if she was willing them to make Miguel appear out of thin air. When she was younger (and alive), Victoria would often stare off into space to pass time while she was learning how to sew, impatient to make her first pair of shoes.

But that was a long time ago. Victoria Rivera was no longer alive, being robbed of life in her mid-30s, thanks to a deadly illness that no one could name. Unfortunately, this also made her the youngest Rivera to cross over to the Land of the Dead, much to the devastation of her family.

 _Hopefully Miguel doesn't end up here permanently. He needs to go home and listen to Mama Imelda._

"Victoria? Mija, are you alright?"

Snapping out of her reverie, it took Victoria a few minutes to realize that her uncles, aunt and papá were staring at her in , Victoria turned back to the group with her normal, stony expression, showing no sign of emotion.

"Qué pasa, Papá?" Victoria asked matter-of-factly.

"Nothing, niña. Its just that you remind me of your Mamá sometimes when she has something on her mind." Julio responded. "Is everything alright?"

"Sí, Papá. Estoy bien." Victoria responded. "I hope Abuelita finds Dante soon. Miguel needs to get home, Elena is going to be inquieto otherwise."

Sighing softly, Julio took his daughter's hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze before letting go. Knowing his youngest daughter, she probably was going out of her mind with worry right about now. His eldest daughter on the other hand had her own ways of dealing with her emotions.

"Sí, niña." Julio replied. "She probably is. But knowing Elena, she's not going to give up until she finds him."

"Sí, Victoria," Rosita added. "I wouldn't be worried. Mama Imelda won't stop until Miguel is safe and sound. But I do hope they work this out."

"Work what out, Tía?" asked Victoria. "The music ban won't be lifted. Abuelita is too stubborn for that." _And too proud_ she thought.

"No, but for Miguel's sake, I hope they work something out. Both here and in La Tierra de los Vivos," replied Rosita. "Knowing our living family, they probably didn't take it too well when they found out Miguel played the guitar."

"No, probablemente no. Elena definitely would not have taken it well," said Victoria.

"It'd would have reminded her of what happened when Coco got hurt, Vicita," Rosita added. "You were no more than five or six at the time but your Mamá decided to sneak off dancing to the plaza and wound up spraining her ankle. You and Elena were so upset."

"I'm not surprised, Tía," Victoria added ruefully. "Elena has always been a firecracker, even as a child."

"It reminds me of when Coco was a little girl." Said Oscar.

"Remember when Coco came home from the plaza because she was searching for Héctor?" finished Felipe

Both of them quickly covering theirs mouth with their hands after a quick nudge from Rosita. _Oops._ That was supposed to be a well-kept secret.

At this, Victoria looked curiously towards her gran tío, her jaw nearly falling off in shock. Most of the stories about her mother usually were about the first pair of shoes she ever made or the harmless pranks she pulled on her uncles when she was a child. Mama Imelda had forbidden the twins from telling any stories about _el músico_ to Victoria and Elena. Once Imelda, the twins, Rosita, Julio and Victoria were dead, no one had been allowed to talk to or even seek him out _._

"Qué?" asked Victoria. "When did this happen?" Looking at her father, Victoria looked sharply at him through her glasses. "Papá?"

"I'm not sure I should tell you, niña," Julio said. "It involves el musico and you know how much your abuelita hates stories about him."

"She's not here now, Papá. Por favor dime, quiero saber. Tell me." Pleaded Victoria.

Julio sighed. His daughter had a way of getting to him, even as a child, with her pleading voice. Holding his hat in his hands, Julio began to talk as his daughter, sister, and uncles-in-law listened with rapt attention.

"Your mother used to sneak down to dance in the plaza when she was a little girl. But as you know she stopped doing that after she got injured and scared you and your hermana. She told me about this shortly before I died. Apparently, when she was about ten, she ran away after an argument with your grandmother in an attempt to try and find el musico."

At that, everyone but the twins gasped in shock, stunned at what they heard.

"What happened next, Papá?" asked Victoria. But Julio shook his head, afraid of revealing too much.

"Eventually she gave up and went home after a couple of hours," said Felipe.

"Pero Imelda estaba tan molesta." Added Oscar. "It was the one of the few times that we saw her cry. It was as if the world ended."

Victoria took a breath, taking in all the new information. None of this had ever been told to her. Her father took her hands again and spoke, almost in a whisper, "Promise me, Victoria. That you won't tell your Abuelita that we told you this. She won't take it well and knowing her, she's probably on the verge of a breakdown right about now."

While the other Riveras waited behind for news on Miguel, they were wrong on one thing: Imelda Rivera was NOT in the middle of a breakdown. She was too busy looking high and low for her grandson whilst traveling on Pepita's back.

So far, nobody she had asked had seen Miguel and despite Pepita's best efforts, she couldn't find him either, neither through the throngs of people heading up to de la Cruz's mansion nor the ones standing in the streets. It was too crowded and sending Pepita down into the crowds might cause a panic. Dante had been put back on the ground, his exuberance too much for the giant alebreje.

"We're not giving up, Pepita," Imelda had told her alebreje. "He's out there somewhere, I can feel it. I just hope that we can find him before sunrise."

Pepita roared in agreement while Dante barked loudly from the ground. Meanwhile, Imelda kept talking to her alebreje, in an attempt to try and calm her nerves.

"It's not that I don't want him to play music, but I can't go there on Dia de los Muertos and watch. It'll be _him_ all over again," Imelda said firmly, twisting her hands in Pepita's fur as she became increasingly upset. "I know it probably sounds egoísta. I understand the fun in playing music and I understand Miguel finding the joy in music like I once did. I just can't bear to hear music and see _him_ all over again!"

As people began looking towards her, Imelda quickly took a deep breath and pulled herself together. _Now is not the time to have an emotional breakdown in the middle of the street._ Finding Miguel was the top priority.

Walking quickly down the crowded street, Imelda looked around for any sign of her wayward grandson as Pepita took to the skies again, scanning the crowd. Dante ran ahead, looking in alleys and peeking in trashcans.

"He's not going to be there, pero." Imelda muttered angrily, narrowly avoiding running into a skeleton wearing a formal suit. After uttering a quick 'lo siento', the skeleton quickly called out: "Espere!"

"Are you the family looking for the living boy, Señora?"

"Sí, I am. Pour qúe? Have you seen him?"

"No, but earlier I heard about a living boy making an appearance at the party. Apparently, he was quite the hit at the party. I'm not sure if he's still there though," he said. Then giving Imelda's clothes a onceover, he added sarcastically "Sin ofrender, but the party is pretty hard to get into. You'll have better luck making an appointment."

At that Imelda sorely considered taking off her boot, the better to slap the skeleton across the head. But what good would that do? Angrily, she stormed off, swearing in Spanish under her breath, as Pepita met up with her at the end of street.

"Esto es una broma? I am NOT making an appointment to see my grandson. Pepita, is there any way we can locate Miguel or is he inside the mansion?"

At that, Pepita took off again, heading for the mansion. At the same moment, Dante also took off, running haphazardly until Imelda could no longer see him.

" **DANTE!"**


	3. Chapter 3

**Camouflage Chapter 3**

Imelda climbed forward onto Pepita as Dante took off running into the streets, barking furiously at anyone who dared come near him. Miguel was in trouble and Dante had somehow sensed that, much to Imelda's shock. A plain old dog? she pondered. He must be loco. This was no ordinary dog, this had to be an alebrije.

"Ay, this Xolo looks like a sausage with a bad haircut, Pepita. Why mi nieta even allowed Miguel near it is beyond me." Imelda exclaimed as she gripped Pepita's back tighter than usual, causing the alebrije to yelp. "Lo siento, Pepita, I'll try to be gentler. I'm just worried about Miguel."

Giving Imelda a reassuring nuzzle, Pepita flew over buildings and skyscrapers as she trailed Dante through the Land of the Dead. Numerous people looked up as the giant alebrije flew, roaring as she scanned the streets for any sign of the wayward twelve-year-old.

Having already searched Shantytown, Pepita flew over it, as they made their way towards de la Cruz's mansion and the Arts District, a place that Imelda tried to avoid whenever possible out of fear of seeing _him_.

But whenever she had the opportunity, Imelda would try and visit Ceci, a friend of hers both in life and death as well as the best seamstress in the Land of the Dead. When Imelda looked in the Arts District earlier, Ceci had been busy with dress fittings when Imelda asked her where Miguel was.

" _I wasn't really paying attention, Imelda," Ceci said through a mouthful of pins as she worked on a dancer's dress. "There was a kid here earlier, but he was with—well, with him."_

 _Clenching her teeth, Imelda took a deep breath before finding her voice again and standing up from the chair she was sitting in._

" _I see. Gracias, Ceci. Buena suerte con el rendimiento de esta noche." Imelda responded, kissing her friend's cheekbone in gratitude._

" _De nada. Espero que encuentres a tu nieto."_

Jerked out of her reverie by Pepita's deep growl, Imelda knew that they were getting close and looked down, trying to avoid getting dizzy. When she first arrived in the Land of the Dead, Imelda was terrified of falling off Pepita and clung to her alebrije like a lifeline about to be cut. But now, nearly 50 years after her death, Imelda Rivera had gotten used to riding her alebrije and learned to love the feeling of flying through the air, something that her granddaughter inherited as well.

The other members of the family though were not so sure. Pepita was not very fond of Julio, the twins or any male family member. In life, Pepita would often scratch the twins and Julio to get what she wanted. But after a while, the twins managed to win Pepita over, whilst making Julio deathly afraid of her. Imelda found out later that the twins had fed Julio's breakfast to Pepita one day, causing the alebreje to chase Julio out of the house and into the main street. Two sore skulls and a couple of choice words later, Imelda had banned the twins from taking care of Pepita and tasked herself and Victoria with the job instead.

"Are we close, Pepita? Is our boy nearby?" Imelda asked anxiously, sounding not too unlike Rosita when she accidentally burned something on the stove. "Hopefully, that man didn't do anything too stupid." Purring in agreement, Pepita flew on, following Dante as he headed for the outskirts of the main city.

Having only seen her mistress' estranged husband a few times a year, it was safe to say that Pepita did not like Héctor either. For the first several years after Imelda had crossed over, El Día del Amor y la Amistad quickly became a game for Pepita chasing away Héctor and any other lovestruck skeletons who wanted to impress her.

Suddenly Dante barked towards a cenote and skidded to stop, and leaped in the air several times, landing quite ungracefully as he hit the ground, still wearing a silly grin on his face.

Imelda approached the cenote quietly as Pepita hung back, not wanting a repeat of Miguel running away again. But as they approached, Imelda heard something different. Was it singing? Shaking her head in disbelief and anger, Imelda was tempted to run forward and tell the offending musician off, but she held back. Something didn't feel right with interrupting this.

 _Until you're in my arms again._

 _Remember me._

Petting Pepita gently on the head, Imelda was shocked when she spotted watermarks on her dress. "Here I am, acting like a silly girl over a song," She mused as she wiped her eyes with her apron. A little shaken, Imelda got back on Pepita, waiting to see if there was any sign of sound from the cenote.

After that, it went quiet, not a sound made from the cenote again. Not until loud gritos filled the night air, startling Imelda out of her reverie and causing Dante to run forward in excitement, barking like crazy as an excited cry "Dante!" cut through the air.

"We must get our boy out of there, Pepita!" Urging on the alebrije, Pepita roared into the cenote as Imelda laughed in relief upon seeing Miguel. He was soaking wet, but more importantly, still alive and breathing. As Imelda turned her gaze up, a bedraggled skeleton caught her eye and she quickly stiffened in anger. It was definitely Héctor, without a margin of doubt.

"You look good!" he cried out nervously upon seeing her. Tensing angrily, Imelda urged Pepita on. Silently, Pepita dove into the cenote, splashing water on an overjoyed Miguel and a clearly nervous Héctor as she landed. Miguel ran over to embrace Imelda as Héctor watched in the background.

"Imelda, thank you, I—"

"I don't want to hear about it, Héctor," Imelda said as she helped Miguel on to Pepita. "Nor do I want to even know how you got my tataranieto into the cenote in the first place."

Attempting to protest, Héctor stood up sharply "But it was-".

Imelda shot him a glare of pure ice, effectively silencing him as she quickly climbed up onto Pepita's back. Miguel had shrunk back in an attempt to make himself look smaller, clearly uncomfortable with how the conversation had gone.

"Mama Imelda? What about Héctor?" asked Miguel as he observed the conversation silently. "We can't just leave him here!" Wordlessly, Imelda gestured to Pepita as Héctor immediately tried to climb on. But unfortunately for him, Pepita had other plans.

The large alebrije growled, causing Héctor to scoot back fearfully until he was on Pepita's tail and on the verge of falling off. Seemingly satisfied, Pepita took off from the cenote into the night air, Héctor clinging to her tail with all his might as they flew off towards the roof of the Department of Family Reunions.

 **Fin**

 **(on a side note-I really appreciate everyone's comments and devotion but I'm ready to move on to other stories. Camouflage ends where the movie picks up. Go see it! (its awesome!))**


End file.
